By Desmond Darko, Founder and CEO of Young Dee Group
When unemployment statistics are released in Ghana, the headlines are always the same: “No jobs for the youth.” Politicians argue, students complain, and parents worry. But here’s the truth nobody wants to admit:
Unemployment in Ghana will not be solved by job creation alone. It will be solved by good work ethics, creativity, and government support.
If you don’t find employment, you must create it. If you cannot be employed, you must employ yourself.
The Missing Piece: A Creative Mindset
Every job in the world today was born out of somebody’s idea. Cars, airplanes, televisions, computers, mobile phones, healthcare system, agricultural and food industries were once just thoughts in someone’s mind. Today, they are the leading industries in the world.
Think about it: TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube—platforms millions of Ghanaian youth use daily—were not made by governments or politicians. They were built by ordinary people with creativity.
So the question is: what are you using your brain for? Endless scrolling, or solving problems?
Creativity: Invention and Innovation – What They Mean for Ghana
- Creativity is seeing opportunities where others see obstacles. It is the spark that says, “There’s a better way.” To be creative, you need *critical thinking, integrity, resourcefulness, humility, and vision.
- Invention is the courage to take an idea and turn it into something real. The first car didn’t look like the ones we see today, but it started a revolution. That is how progress begins.
- Innovation is about improvement—taking something that exists and making it faster, cheaper, or better. From heavy landline phones to smartphones, that’s the power of innovation.
As we spoke about work ethics in our previous post, if Ghanaian youth adopt these – Work Ethic and creativity, unemployment will shrink drastically.
Why This Matters for Ghana’s Future
The problem with our national approach is that we keep looking to government alone to “create jobs.” But governments do not create sustainable jobs—people do. Entrepreneurs do. Innovators do. Problem-solvers do.
The day Ghanaian youth start seeing problems as opportunities instead of complaints, everything will change.
- A dirty environment is a chance to create a sanitation solution, typical examples is zoom lion and what the bus stop boys are doing now.
- Food waste after every fruitful farm season is a chance to build an agro-processing business.
- Traffic jams are a chance to invent new transport systems.
- Electricity shortages are a chance to innovate in renewable energy.
Every problem in Ghana is a hidden job description for someone bold enough to solve it.
The Wake-Up Call
Let me be honest: our biggest national resource is not gold, cocoa, or oil—it is the Ghanaian brain. But too many of our youths are focused more on negativity instead of turning it into wealth, businesses, and solutions.
We need a cultural shift. Our schools, churches, and families must begin to teach young people not only how to seek jobs but rather good work ethics, creativity and government support to private businesses – which is our next discussion.
Unemployment will not end because politicians promise it. It will end when we wake up and take ownership of our creativity.
Final Word
The future of Ghana is not in Accra’s ministries or foreign investments—it is in the minds of its young people. Creativity plus good work ethics and government support are the only true cure for unemployment.
The next Facebook, the next Toyota, the next big global idea does not need to come from America, China, or Europe. It can be born right here in Ghana—if only we stop waiting and start creating.
So I ask you again: What are you using your brain for?
